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Chapter 24: Bran
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Game of Thrones, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Politics and Power
Climate Change and Collective Action
Gender and Power
Honor and Integrity
Identity
Summary
Analysis
Ned talks with Grand Maester Pycelle about Jon Arryn’s death. Ned asks if there was anything suspicious about the death. Grand Maester Pycelle says that Jon Arryn’s illness came on suddenly, but there was nothing that made it any more or less suspicious than the countless other deaths he’s witnessed. He also says that Lysa has not seemed like she’s in her right mind recently. Ned raises the possibility that Jon Arryn might have been poisoned, and Pycelle says that no man would poison another man before bringing up the fact that Lord Varys is a eunuch.
In part, the novel uses some of the genre hallmarks of detective stories to propel its plot forward. In this case, Ned acts as an investigator trying to track down the truth of who killed Jon Arryn. In detective stories, the detective often meets setbacks, dead ends, and false leads. It’s unclear, at this point, whether Pycelle’s information means the investigation is all for nothing, or if it’s simply a setback that Ned will have to overcome to continue his investigation.
Themes
Ned then talks to Littlefinger. Littlefinger tells Ned that he promised Catelyn to help Ned get to the bottom of what happened to Jon Arryn and find out who tried to kill Bran. Littlefinger says he has found some of Jon Arryn’s servants who were present when he died. Littlefinger also says that Ned is constantly being watched by Lord Varys and Cersei’s spies, so Ned should send his most trusted man to go see Ser Hugh, Jon Arryn’s former squire. Ned thanks Littlefinger for his help and says that perhaps he was wrong to distrust him. Littlefinger says that distrusting him is the wisest thing that Ned has done.
Littlefinger’s statement that Ned’s decision to distrust him was the wisest thing that Ned has done points to the cutthroat nature of politics and power. In the novel’s portrayal of politics, no one is trustworthy and anyone is capable of betrayal. Ned, though, as a fundamentally decent person, seems inclined to trust people, raising the question of how suited he is to be playing the “game of thrones” and getting involved in the machinations of power.
Themes
